Claudia "Dolly" Powers: No point remaining on inactive board

Published 6:17 pm, Thursday, June 28, 2012

Every spring, the folks who make up your state government, elected and appointed, complete and file their "Annual Statement of Financial Interests" with the Office of State Ethics. One can file electronically or the old-fashioned paper way. My experience with "lost" filings leads me to not only use the old-fashioned route and make multiple copies, but to send it by snail mail return receipt. Seems to work much better now.

Now, some of you are scratching your heads and wondering, "Didn't she retire a while back?"

You are correct; however, then-Governor M. Jodi Rell appointed me to serve on the Connecticut State Contracting Standards Board. This body was formed under legislation championed by Gov. Rell aimed at reforming the multiple, byzantine contracting systems employed across our state government. This wide-ranging and complicated new law was her attempt to impose uniformity, fair dealing, and transparency across all agencies and departments.

The State Contracting Standards Board was meant to oversee this massive overhaul, as well as actually hear and settle disputes concerning contracts and the new rules and procedures. Shortly, (literally months) after the board was fully manned, the Democratic majority de-funded the entire kit and kaboodle. The board lost all funding for staff, space, supplies, computers, etc. and, as a result, Gov. Rell's huge reform effort died. She had used her bully pulpit to shame the Democratic majority into passing the law; but once it was signed and on the books, they gutted the reform in a very cowardly way. Why? Because, under the new law, state workers would be held accountable to common private sector levels of proficiency and expertise. If they missed the mark, their jobs could be outsourced (in a very involved procedure) to private sector firms. The Democratic majority folded yet one more time to their union bosses, destroying the new law by dint of financial starvation.

Since board members received a small stipend for each board meeting, members fall under the requirements for filling out the Annual Statement. Never mind that the board only met a couple of times, has been moribund for several years now, file we must under penalty of fine and prosecution.

This 17-page form requires providing basic personal information, one's connection to state government, listings of all real property owned, business and non-profit connections, any trusts, income sources, securities owned, and any leases or contracts with the state. This information is held by the Office of State Ethics and is public information. Additionally, there is a "Confidential Addendum" which requires disclosure of the names and addresses of all creditors owed in excess of $10,000. The Addendum is sealed in an envelope which can be opened by a majority vote of the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board in response to a complaint filed against the state official.

Also, some classes of filers have their residential addresses protected and shielded by the Office of State Ethics; basically these are folks involved in the court systems, public safety, corrections, and the departments of Children and Families and Mental Health and Addiction Services. However, with all the Internet search engines readily available, I am not sure how much protection this provides anymore.

The Annual Statement is an attempt to collect information about persons involved in your state government and their financial dealings, which makes sense -- for folks actually participating in government. However, since the State Contracting Standards Board no longer functions in any capacity and I have better ways to spend my time every spring, I think it is time to resign from this inactive board, saving everyone time and money in the process.

But now you know all about the Annual Statement, which is a good thing.

Claudia "Dolly" Powers, a Greenwich resident, is a former special education teacher who represented the town's 151st District for eight terms in the state House of Representatives.